Display driver and system

ABSTRACT

Improved apparatus for use in plant security and related applications to give a visible signal, at a central location, which is spatially associated with the location of the signal source. The improvement consists in using a closed circuit television monitor to observe a representation of premises to be secured, and electronically inserting indicia into the reproduction at the monitor, at the locations of any security signal sources which are responding to violations.

United States Patent [1 1 Wick Oct. 23, 1973 [54] DISPLAY DRIVER AND SYSTEM 2,809,298 10/1957 Cawein I78/DIG. 6

3,465,097 9 1969 B b 178 DIG.

[75] Inventor: Dale 0. Wick, Maple Grove, Minn. [a on I 6 [73] Assi gnee: Honeywell Inc., Minneapolis, Minn. primary Examiner Howard w Britten [22] Filed: APR 27, 1972 Attorney-Charles J. Ungemach et al.

Appl. No.: 248,165

[57] ABSTRACT Improved apparatus for use in plant security and related applications to give a visible signal, at a central location, which is spatially associated with the location of the signal source. The improvement consists in using a closed circuit television monitor to observe a representation of premises to be secured, and electronically inserting indicia into the reproduction at the monitor, at the locations of any security signal sources which are responding to violations.

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I flxzsl tvlQ f Q Q CH.A ,cn.e |CH.C nomroa it 24 PAIENIEUuctza ma SHEET 2 BF 2 MIQ 2 DISPLAY DRIVER AND SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the fields of electronics and plant security. Modern plant security is considerably more sophisticated than the traditional system of one or more watchmen making appointed rounds to prevent or reduce loss due to theft, vandalism, or natural causes such as fires, leaks, or short circuits. Even a modest commercial establishment now has a security center at which are located the indicators of a wide variety of sensors such as fire alarms, burglar alarms, intrusion and proximity detectors, and condition responsive systems of all sorts such as high or low pressure or level detectors, mechanical or electrical failure indicators, smoke detectors, and similar apparatus. Such a modest system may nevertheless include a considerable bank of instruments which must be monitored by security personnel: when one instrument in the mist of such a bank gives its alarm, it is not always easy to instantly correlate the alarm with the location and nature of the emergency it represents, and this, of course, delays the initiation of remedial action.

One expedient that can be resorted to is the construction of a panel on which the physical layout of the premises in question is pictorially reproduced, by charts, aerial photographs, or similar means. Each indicator may then be mounted on the panel at a location corresponding to the location of the actual sensor in the real premises. This physical arrangement acts as a mnemonic aid to facilitate recognition of the emergency being signaled, and can be further enhanced by proper pictorialization of the panel.

The arrangement just described is bulky, and has the further disadvantage that it is'not quickly or conveniently altered when the plant layout changes. Addition or relocation of sensors, to accomodate the plant reorganization which is practically continual in modern establishments, requires physical modification of the panel with the coordinated services of carpenters, electricians, painters, and so forth. An out-of-date panel is a detraction rather than an aid and can result in the dispatch of remedial personnel to locations which no longer exist, for example, if the memory of the security supervisor slips with respect to a changed situation not yet corrected on the panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has as its objective to provide a new central display arrangement for plant security and sensor uses which is compact, easily monitored, mnemonic, and simple to modify or augment, the former practically instantaneously, and the latter as quickly as the signal from a new sensor can be connected to existing terminals.

It is thus a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved display arrangement for plant security and related uses. Another object is to provide an improved closed circuit television system in which indicia can be added to the monitor screen electrically in response to alarms from security signal sources, and can be positioned at any desired location on the screen. A more detailed object of the invention is to provide electrical control means which may be connected to a television monitor and to a plurality of security signal sources, for causing the insertion of one or more attention-attracting indicia into the monitor screen, in response to signals from one or more of the sources, at positions which are easily and instantaneously varied by adjusting means located at the control means.

Various other objects, advantages, and features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawing which forms a further part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing FIG. 1 schematically shows my plant security system as a whole; and

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a display drive suitable for use in practicing my invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing FIG. 1 shows a closed circuit television system having a transmitter 10 and a receiver or monitor 11 interconnected by a cable 12. As is conventional in black-and-white television, transmitter 10 comprises a camera tube 13 for converting an observed scene into a video signal on a cable 14. The beam of the camera tube is swept and blanked by a sweep generator 15 and a sync generator 16, the latter also controlling the former. Sync signals are combined with a video signal during blanked intervals thereof in an adder 17, to produce a complex video signal which is transmitted along cable 12 to monitor 11.

In the monitor a sync separator 20 extracts from the complex video signal separate horizontal and vertical sync pulses, which are supplied to deflection circuitry 21 of the picture tube 22. The video signal is supplied to the intensity control circuitry 23 of the picture tube: since the sync pulses are negative-going, or blacker than black, they are without effect on the picture.

As thus far described the system is conventional. If a chart or photograph 18 of the premises to be secured is placed in the field of view of camera tube 13, the chart is reproduced on picture tube 22. The beam of the camera tube sweeps horizontally at a high rate, and vertically at a much lower rate, to cover the entire field of the tube cyclically. Saw-tooth generators in deflection circuitry 21 of the picture tube are synchronized with generator 15 of the transmitter so that the picture tube beam goes across its screen in the same pattern and at the same rate as the camera tube beam. As is well known, the position of any resolution element on the picture tube screen may be defined by simultaneous values of horizontal and vertical sweep voltages, and

the element is bright or dark according to the value of the video or intensity signal at the instant the beam is falling on that element.

My invention contemplates the addition to the system just described of a display driver 24 which receives at 25 and 26 horizontal and vertical sync pulses from sync separator 20, and supplies at 27 an intensity control signal for picture tube 22 suitable to create a spot on the screen which is brighter (or darker) than any normal picture point. While driver 24 is shown to have three channels, one for each of three remote sensing stations or gating signal sources A, B, and C, it will be readily understood that as many channels can be provided as are desired. Channel A includes a gating signal conductor 30, a horizontal reference adjusting knob 31, and a vertical reference adjusting knob 32. Similarly channels B and C include conductors 33 and 34, horizontal adjusting knobs 35 and 36, and vertical adjusting knobs 37 and 40.

The structure of driver 24 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. The sync pulses on conductors and 26 initiate the operation of a horizontal ramp generator 41 and vertical ramp generator 42. The output of generator 41 is supplied to a plurality of gated comparators 43, 44, and 45, one in each channel of the driver. The output of generator 42 is supplied to a plurality of gated comparators 46, 47, and 50, one in each channel of the driver. A second input is supplied to comparator 43 from a horizontal reference 51, variable by knob 31. In like manner comparators 44 and 45 receive second inputs from horizontal references 52 and 53, variable by knobs 46 and 36, and comparators 46, 47, and 50 receive second inputs from vertical references 54, 55, and 56, variable by knobs 32, 37, and 40. One-shots 57, 61, 63, 60, 62, and 64 are connected to comparators 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, and 50 respectively. Normally the comparators provide no outputs, but if a gating signal appears, for example, on conductor 30, comparators 43 and 46 supply signals to trigger one-shots 57 and 60 respectively whenever the ramp generator signals become greater than the references. One-shots 61 and 62 can similarly be triggered by comparators 44 and 47, and one-shots 63 and 64 by comparators 45 and 50.

The one-shots all operate in the same way. When a signal is supplied to one-shot 57, for example, it supplies an output which continues for a predetermined interval and then terminates, regardless of whether or not the input signal itself terminates: the input must, of course, terminate before the one-shot can be triggered a second time.

The outputs of one-shots 57, 61, and 63 are supplied through an OR circuit 65 to comprise one input to an AND circuit 66: the second input to this AND circuit is the output of a second OR circuit 67 having as inputs the outputs of one-shots 60, 62, and 64. The output of AND circuit 66 is supplied through a flasher 70, comprising a multivibrator 72 and another AND circuit 71, and a buffer amplifier 73 to output conductor 27.

The operation of the driver is as follows. No output is supplied at 27 unless a gating signal is supplied on one or more conductors 30, 33 and 34 fromone of the remote signal sensors. [f such a signal is supplied, on conductor 30, for example, AND circuit 66 supplies an output whenever one-shots 57 and 60 are on simultaneously: by appropriate adjustment of knobs 31 and 32 this condition can be caused to take place when the beam of the picture tube is at any desired point in its sweep. For example, if it is desired to have the output take place when the beam is at the center of the screen, knobs 31 and 32 are adjusted so that references 51 and 54 are half way along their ranges. Then a contrasting spot appears at the center of the reproduction: by suitably setting the gain of amplifier 73, and the sense of its output, the spot may be made brighter or darker than any normal part of the picture, and its intermittent nature due to operation of flasher 70 makes it even more obvious.

in establishing the initial set-up of my system, a suitable representation of the premises being secured is positioned at 18, showing the actual locations of sources A, B, and C. Conductors from these sources are connected to supply gating signals at 30, 33, and 34 when the conditions which the sources are to monitor are violated. An intentional violation at source A is brought about, and knobs 31 and 32 are adjusted until the resulting bright spot in the picture tube is positioned at the location of the sensor in the reproduction, the same is done for source B, and so on. Normal operation is now restored, and any subsequent violation is signaled by a bright flashing spot at the location in the reproduction of the sensor in question.

It will be apparent that if a more complex system is desired, the above principles can be applied to produce, for example, a spot of contrasting color rather than black and white.

Numerous objects and advantages of my invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, and the novel features thereof are pointed out in the appended claims. The disclosure, however, is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail especially in matter of shape, size, and arrangement of parts, within the principle of the invention, to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

1 claim as my invention:

1. In a security system, in combination:

a representation of premises to be secured, on which the locations of security gating signal sources are clearly marked;

a closed circuit television system including a camera which continuously observes said representation and a monitor which continuously displays a reproduction of the representation;

and adjustable means connected to said monitor for inserting visible indicia into said reproduction in response to gating signals, and for positioning each indicium at the location, on said reproduction, of a particular gating signal source.

2. In a security system, in combination:

a plurality of sources of security gating signals installed at selected locations in premises to be secured;

a representation of said premises on which the locations of said sources are clearly marked;

a closed circuit television system including a camera which continuously observes said representation and a monitor which continuously displays a reproduction of the representation;

and adjustable means connected to said monitor and to said sources for inserting distinguishable indicia into said reproduction in response to said gating signals, and for positioning each indicium at the location, on said reproduction, of a particular gating signal source.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said adjustable means comprises horizontal and vertical channels, an AND circuit connected to receive the outputs of said channels, and means supplying the output of said AND circuit to said monitor to affect the beam intensity thereof.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which each said channel comprises a ramp generator connected to receive a sync pulse from said monitor, a plurality of gated comparators connected to said generator and having variable references, said comparators giving outputs, upon being gated, whenever the ramp generator outputs exceed said references, one-shots conone-shots, the output of said OR circuit comprising the output of said channel and comprising pulses determined in length by the on periods of said one-shots and in time by the value of said references for comparators nected to receive the outputs of said comparators, and 5 which are gated on. 

1. In a security system, in combination: a representation of premises to be secured, on which the locations of security gating signal sources are clearly marked; a closed circuit television system including a camera which continuously observes said representation and a monitor which continuously displays a reproduction of the representation; and adjustable means connected to said monitor for inserting visible indicia into said reproduction in response to gating signals, and for positioning each indicium at the location, on said reproduction, of a particular gating signal source.
 2. In a security system, in combination: a plurality of sources of security gating signals installed at selected locations in premises to be secured; a representation of said premises on which the locations of said sources are clearly marked; a closed circuit television system including a camera which continuously observes said representation and a monitor which continuously displays a reproduction of the representation; and adjustable means connected to said monitor and to said sources for inserting distinguishable indicia into said reproduction in response to said gating signals, and for positioning each indicium at the location, on said reproduction, of a particular gating signal source.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said adjustable means comprises horizontal and vertical channels, an AND circuit connected to receive the outputs of said channels, and means supplying the output of said AND circuit to said monitor to affect the beam intensity thereof.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which each said channel comprises a ramp generator connected to receive a sync pulse from said monitor, a plurality of gated comparators connected to said generator and having variable references, said comparators giving outputs, upon being gated, whenever the ramp generator outputs exceed said references, one-shots connected to receive the outputs of said comparators, and an OR circuit connected to receive the outputs of said one-shots, the output of said OR circuit comprising the output of said channel and comprising pulses determined in length by the on periods of said one-shots and in time by the value of said references for comparators which are gated on. 